Divine Beauty of the Bengali Bride

I have never seen such a beautiful Bengali bride till I met Sutapa. The first time I saw her, her beauty mesmerized me. It was the morning of her Gaye Hulud, a Bengali wedding ritual where the turmeric paste is applied all over the body of the bride. According to belief, the application of turmeric will give the bride a glowing skin. Nevertheless, looking at Sutapa, I wondered whether she actually requires the application.  Her beautiful peach complexion does not require anything.  Draped in a crisp cotton sari, she sat for the rituals. Relatives and friends smeared her with the turmeric paste on all face, hands and legs. Sitting quietly, she was enjoying her every moment.

After a bath, she was made to sit for some more rituals. For the Bengali bride, the morning of her wedding is a busy day with rituals thrown in one after another. Sutapa came out wearing another set of clothes, this time in pure silk. She was made to wear the ‘sankha-pola’, the traditional white and red Bengali bangles which are worn by any Bengali married women. Alta, a red liquid was applied on her hand and feet, however, many Bengali brides also apply henna on hands nowadays.  After a small puja, she was given sweets to eat.

The evening of the wedding day is the time when all Bengali brides are dressed in their traditional attire. Sutapa did the same. She wore a tomato red sari with heavy brocade work, draped in the Bengali way.  The hair was neatly tied in a bun with red roses covering it. The sandalwood pattern drawn on her forehead centering on her big red bindi made her look very beautiful. Decked in gold jewelry from head to toe, she was looking like a million dollar beauty.

Looking at Sutapa, I am sure that most of the Bengali bride will look beautiful. The simplicity of rituals, the traditional attire and the gold jewelry make any bride of Bengal attractive and angelic.

Not only the bride and groom, Bengal Matrimony demands the active presence of other close relatives also, who are the part of this event.

Author:  Shipra Sinha